A front-runner for the succession of Ban Ki-moon as head of the United Nations has exaggerated her official biography to claim she was Foreign Minister of Bulgaria in 1996/1997. She is currently heading Unesco, the UN’s organisation for education, science and culture.

According to an investigation by „Die Welt“, the 63 year old never held this post in her home country. Official statements both by the Bulgarian parliament and the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign affairs confirm that the Bulgarian parliament never approved Bokova to become Foreign Minister.

„Ms. Irina Bokova has not been voted for minister of foreign affairs by the Bulgarian parliament, as stipulated by the Constitution. From a legal point of view Ms Irina Bokova has been 'acting minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria’ and she should not be entitled otherwise“, says the statement of the Foreign Ministry in Sofia. The official list by the Foreign Ministry does not name Bokova as an office holder.

"Bokova never was Foreign Minister“

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The official answer of the Bulgarian parliament states that Bokova did not hold the job at all. This is because Georgi Pirinski, Foreign Minister in the period concerned, resigned in November 1996. But „Prime-Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Zhan Videnov has never filed a request to the National Assembly for the dismissal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgi Pirinski“. In December 1996 Videnov’s government resigned. In February 1997 a caretaker government took over. Then acting Foreign Minister Stoyan Stalev, formerly Bulgaria’s Ambassador in Bonn, declared on request of „Die Welt“: „Irina Bokova never was Foreign Minister.“

Bokova’s Unesco office thanked „Die Welt“ for the email „by which you alert us about a lapse in the CV of the Director-General“. The CV is an official document and had been published when Bokova started office back in 2009. According to her office „Irina Bokova acted as Foreign Minister ad interim from August 96 to March 97“. Following questions from „Die Welt", the document on the Unesco website was subsequently amended, including the abbreviation „a.i.“ to indicate that her post was ad interim.

Criteria woman and from Eastern Europe

This time the process is meant to be more transparent. Also for the first time in UN’s 70 years history a woman shall take the post and, with Russia – a Security Council member campaigning for a candidate from Eastern Europe, Bokova is regarded as a genuine candidate.

Bokova, who for months has been promoting herself intensely in international media and at home, has been backed by the former Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski and the former US Governor Bill Richardson. Bokova also had good contacts with Moscow. Only last week she travelled to see President Vladimir Putin for talks.

Bokova has been Unesco’s Director General since 2009. In the 1970ies Bokova studied at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations where Russia’s current Foreign Minister Serge Lavrov also was a student. Daughter of a Communist cadre family she had finished her A-levels at Sofia’s First English Language School. At the age of 25 she entered the diplomatic service.

EU Commissioner a contender?

The nomination for the top job at the head of the UN last year through Bulgaria’s then Socialist government was meant to be the highpoint in her career. The current government of Prime Minister Boijko Borrisow has remained non-committal concerning her nomination and Bulgaria’s European Commissioner Kristalina Georgiewa is also said to have an interest in the UN post.

Georgiewa began work in the Commission in Brussels in 2010 coming from the World Bank in Washington. It followed the withdrawal of former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva whose candidature for the Brussels job was derailed after hearings at the European Parliament at which she was accused of incompetence. Several media, including „Die Welt“, also reported on Jeleva’s potential conflict of interest.